First Bride Welcomed After 22 Years! This Rajasthan Village Witnesses Wedding After Years Due to Utter Poverty
The last time a woman wed into the village was in 1966.
In a village in Rajasthan, a wedding was celebrated like it was a huge village get-together. Rajghat village in Dholpur was celebrating the arrival of a bride after long 22 years. The last time a woman wed into the village was in 1966. Due to poverty and lack of basic requirements, families never let their girls be married to men in the village. However, after a long wait, Pawan, a 23-year-old made history when his wedding procession (baraat) set to the bride's house.
Situated on the banks of Chambal river, muddy roads and kaccha houses are what the village is encompassed of. Ask of development and they will tell you about the only primary school and a handpump with saline water. When the sun sets, the village is in complete darkness.
Electricity, basic medical facilities, cemented roads or anything that can be related to progress can hardly be related to Rajghat village. Hence marriage proposals from the men of this village are always turned down, forcing them to remain bachelors.
Around 300 villagers live in 40 kaccha houses, of which 125 are women. Most of them are illiterate, just two could write their name correctly. They have never seen electrical equipments like TV or fridge in their lives. So Pawan's marriage was a great deal for the villagers. Although the bridegroom could not afford a horse to ride on for the wedding procession, he did not let that affect the spirit of the wedding.
If lucky enough, the village may witness a wave of fresh air with Ashwani Parashar, a final year MBBS student in Sawai Man Singh Government Medical College in Jaipur and a native of Dholpur, who moved a public interest litigation in the Rajasthan High Court on the conditions in Rajghat village. He has also launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #SaveRajghat.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 05, 2018 08:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).